Women’s Beach Volleyball | March 02, 2024
LOS ANGELES – The third-ranked USC beach volleyball team (8-2) took down No. 18 Cal Poly (5-2) by a 3-2 count and then picked up a 5-0 sweep of No. 14 Grand Canyon (4-3) on the second day of the Battle for Los Angeles at Merle Norman Stadium on Saturday, March 2.
The Women of Troy improved to 87-11 (.888) all-time at Merle Norman Stadium and extended their home win streak to a program record 22-consecutive wins dating to the end of the 2022 season. In 5-0 matches, the Trojans improve to 142-2 all-time.
The Mustangs won the first point of the dual, but USC’s pair of freshman Madison Goellner and sophomore Madison White evened the dual with a 23-25, 21-13, 15-7 win over Piper Naess and Logan Walter from the No. 4 spot. Senior All-Americans Megan Kraft and Delaynie Maple went 21-11, 21-13 over Ella Connor and Izzy Martinez at the top court to give USC a 2-1 lead before graduates Maddi Kriz and Grace Seits took down Quinn Perry and Lindsey Sparks, 19-21, 21-16, 15-8, to clinch the dual over Cal Poly.
Against the Lopes, twin graduates Audrey Nourse and Nicole Nourse got a 21-18, 21-12 win over Karynn Garrow and Noelle Weintraub to open scoring for the Trojans. It was the 99th-career win for Audrey. Goellner teamed with sophomore Gabby Walker in the second dual and got a 21-16, 21-11 win over Katie Keefe and Adriana Serrano Ferro to give USC a 2-0 lead. At the top court, Kraft and Maple sealed the win with a dominant 21-8, 21-14 win over Sophia Hladyniuk and Krista Rowan. It was the duo’s 37th win together as they move into 12th all-time in program history. Kriz and White’s win at the No. 3 position put USC on top, 4-0. The sweep went into the books when graduate Ainsley Radell and sophomore Mabyn Thomas got a 21-15, 15-21, 15-12 win over Jessica Drake and Mackenzie Harris at the No. 5 spot.
USC heads to the desert for the Pac-12 South Invitational next weekend (March 9-10), hosted by Arizona State at the new Sun Devil Beach Volleyball Facility. The Trojans will take on Utah (11 a.m. PT) and Washington (7 p.m.) on Saturday (March 9) on Pac-12 Washington. USC then takes on Arizona (12 p.m.) and Oregon (2 p.m.) on Sunday (March 10) in duals to be shown on Pac-12 Arizona.
For more information on the USC beach volleyball…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at USC Athletics…